With the tremendous commercial success of computer gaming systems, an entire game peripheral market has emerged, including advanced video controllers, joysticks, steering wheel devices for racing games, multi-tap controllers, vibrating controllers, video stands, audio systems and the like. A number of these game peripherals have been developed to provide force feedback or other high-powered features or feedback in response to a signal from a host computer, e.g., during simulations or game play executed on the host computer.
Certain operating features and components of a game peripheral, such as the high-powered motors used to implement force feedback, require AC power to operate. When AC power is not present, these high-powered operating features and components cannot be used. Other features, such as game controller buttons, thumbsticks, triggers, rumble motors, the controller IC, and radio circuitry have low power consumption and can operate from batteries. Switching from AC power to battery power, or vice versa, during game play can interrupt or slow down the game play.